The Weather

I remember when dry air - 20 C and + 43C. Both felt uplifting. I suspect higher or lower wouldn't be much fun.

During the London smog people said they couldn't see the film in a cinema. Police with flares guided buses. People who lived lets say 5 floors up could see over it. As nothing has changed in London where did the smog come from? Mostly in the city power stations. Coal was banned for fires, low smoke fuels allowed. Ironically London is spoken of now as having more serious problems. Greens say that even if we went all electric the car tyres would still be killing us. The pendulem always swings either side of reality.
 
That is a point to speculate upon. The North should be colder than it is. About 14 000 years ago ( most recent guess ) things got warmer and the Mediterranean Sea filled. Malta became an island. The whole of everything we know today is linked to this. Maybe the more constant life of Africa didn't force the pace of change as in the North. People living where really no one should bother in the ice worlds step by step came to the modern world. The period 30 000 to 14 000 years ago being the most interesting as the people of then were mostly like us ( it is thought ). Alas like most things that were before we were born we can only guess at how we would see it if we could.

When I tell people younger than me of the 1950's they look as if it makes no sense. I remember it like I was there. Going into Woolworths which even today would be impressive and playing with all the electrical parts whilst peanuts were roasting close by, the smell! The sound of the bells and the energy of the place. The old buses that were very dirty and of the highest build quality ( AEC like a Routmaster ). The older buses did not jolt when hitting a pot hole. I cheated on that as I went on one recently, a near magic carpet ride. I do remember the replacements not being as good. I am told an AEC would cost 300% more than what we have now in real terms. And it would last longer.

The Ice age if it comes could be instant. Nothing we can do . Austrailia will be OK, signs are it was a little colder at that time. If so they went Walkabout.
 
I've been using Musto (& Hyde) for the last 3 decades.

Hollow polypropylene fiber underwear starts to smell worn rapidly, due to the inherent characteristics of the cloth. But dry or wet, I've yet to discover an equivalent.
Helly Hansen also has a hollow polyprop line, not up to Musto level but a third of the price tag, still beats all other thermal wear.

Sailing Base Layers | MUSTO

I agree with you! Musto is best! I heard that HH bought Musto out!!!
 
I've been using Musto (& Hyde) for the last 3 decades.

Hollow polypropylene fiber underwear starts to smell worn rapidly, due to the inherent characteristics of the cloth. But dry or wet, I've yet to discover an equivalent.
Helly Hansen also has a hollow polyprop line, not up to Musto level but a third of the price tag, still beats all other thermal wear.

Sailing Base Layers | MUSTO

Couldn't agree more! From what I heard Musto is being bought out by HH. I am wondering if their price is gonna go up!?
 
I remember it like I was there. Going into Woolworths which even today would be impressive

We had a Woolworth's Five and Dime store near my childhood house. It was a large store full of glass display cases and everything from cheap clothing to cheap Japanese electronics. The most memorable part of the store was the huge 1950's style chrome and stainless steel soda fountain with candy counter. It was the pit stop on the way home from church every Sunday for real cherry Cokes from a soda fountain, until my mom had a falling out with that church (late 60's).

The store was there through the 60's until that area began to decline economically. I can't remember exactly when the Woolworth store closed, but it reopened in a newer strip mall as a Woolco store a year or so later, but just wasn't the same. They were the first major retailer to run advertising in Spanish over English language TV stations in Miami.......Vamos a la Woolco!
 
That is a point to speculate upon. The North should be colder than it is. About 14 000 years ago ( most recent guess ) things got warmer and the Mediterranean Sea filled. Malta became an island. The whole of everything we know today is linked to this. Maybe the more constant life of Africa didn't force the pace of change as in the North.

I can think of ways the north SHOULD be colder than the southern hemisphere (land distribution and mass, etc.). So I expect that. And maybe that's why we don't get quite as many posts here from southern hemisphere in their winter. Except this year we are getting quite a few...

But I still want to hear temps from "down there." My weather app shows Antarctica at -49F (-45C). Don't recall just where that was in Antarctica. It's a BIG place!
 
I can think of ways the north SHOULD be colder than the southern hemisphere (land distribution and mass, etc.). So I expect that. And maybe that's why we don't get quite as many posts here from southern hemisphere in their winter. Except this year we are getting quite a few...

But I still want to hear temps from "down there." My weather app shows Antarctica at -49F (-45C). Don't recall just where that was in Antarctica. It's a BIG place!
I think that is not only the matter of the Southern hemisphere being cooler, is a matter of being more stable thermally*** due to a giant proportion of ocean (water) and Antarctica having far far more ice mass than North Pole. (and less desert lands)
***maximum and minimum temperatures being closer
That said...:
Last Monday morning (27) here (far west in Paraná State, near Itaipu Dam and Iguaçu Falls) had 2.4C (36F) minimum, and is making almost 30C (86) maximum since day 28. Very good to health... :dead:
But contrary to most Northern countries, is very difficult to temperatures go below zero even at extreme South in Brazil. The low latitude also contributes (most Southern countries are located in low latitudes). Snows only at high altitude places on the 3 Southern states in Brazil, and is very rare. In other hand, is almost impossible to go to 50C (122F) like Portugal and Spain some days ago. 42-43C (110F) is the limit for most Brazilian states, even the ones close to Equator line.
 
Took the steamtrainup to mt Brocken her in Harz, Germany. We were amazed that people were dressed up in winter jackets, hats and scarfes, while we went onboard the train in shorts and Tees.
Up on top (1100m) of the mountain we got the message ....

now there's a story to remember !
 

PRR

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Joined 2003
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Hmmmm. I seem to be seeing a pattern that we up here in the northern hemisphere have really COLD winters....

I switched heating fuels and have been tracking temp and degree-days.

Overall the last 8 winters (at Bangor) have been ~~8% less-cold than historical average.

However the historical LOW, which I used in designing my system BTU output, was exceeded the first winter. I had some margin, and we were far from freezing, but the furnace ran 20 of 24 hours without quite coming to thermostat setting. (The two 2hr breaks were "deliberate": one was workout-time and the other was evening set-back.)

Another factoid: my front acre was always wet. I dug a pond with the expectation it would have water nearly all the time. It has gone dead-dry, despite the *yearly* average rain being 10% up from average. We have been getting these 0.1" splatters, no real rain in months. (The July we looked at the house, it splattered every day.)
 
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I switched heating fuels and have been tracking temp and degree-days.

Overall the last 8 winters (at Bangor) have been ~~8% less-cold than historical average.

However the historical LOW, which I used in designing my system BTU output, was exceeded the first winter. I had some margin, and we were far from freezing, but the furnace ran 20 of 24 hours without quite coming to thermostat setting. (The two 2hr breaks were "deliberate": one was workout-time and the other was evening set-back.)

Another factoid: my front acre was always wet. I dug a pond with the expectation it would have water nearly all the time. It has gone dead-dry, despite the *yearly* average rain being 10% up from average. We have been getting these 0.1" splatters, no real rain in months. (The July we looked at the house, it splattered every day.)

Very interesting. Wish I could be tracking things so carefully. I find your info particularly useful! Thx PRR! One day we should try to meet up, being not too far away from each other!
Carl
 

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Winter to me is the Sun is truely gone by 8PM. I dislike the Equator for this reason.

Nigel, I almost fell off of my chair when I read your winter sunset criteria. By your reckoning it is 'winter' here now. LOL

The sun sets here in Boston before 8:00PM for about 10 months of the year.

During the winter solstice the sun sets around 4:15PM, twilight varies, but it's quite short in the winter months.

Many of us think we are in the wrong time zone, in summer the sun comes up around 5:00AM, and it starts to get light before 4:00AM in late spring, early summer.

The past few weeks of this 'winter' have been characterized by average temperatures of over 30°C with highs on Tuesday and Wednesday of >36°C.. :p:p